First Reading

Liberation and Decimation Lectionary Date: September 6, 2020 [14th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] Tim finds some helpful angles into a text about massive loss of life.

Divine Invitation to Critique Lectionary Date: August 30, 2020 [13th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] This week, Rachel and Tim tackle a rich passage with the help of the podcast's first professional homiletician, Rev. Dr. Debra Mumford. She is Professor of Homiletics at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Tim's alma mater). Debra is an ordained American Baptist minister, and has served in several church ministry contexts. Her academic work has centered around the topics of African American prophetic preaching, prosperity preaching, eschatology and the reign of God, and the intersections between preaching and health. And, as of this Summer, Dr. Mumford has been installed as the new Academic Dean at Louisville Seminary! Her latest book, from Judson Press, titled Envisioning the Reign of God: Preaching for Tomorrow, is all about making “eschatology” practical for preachers and congregations.

Unexpected Allies Lectionary Date: August 23, 2020 [12th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] Rachel walks us through the moment when everything changes for Israel in Egypt.

God Meant it for Good? Lectionary Date: August 16, 2020 [11th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] How do we square the evil of what Joseph's brothers did to him with the good that came out of it?

Joseph's Fashion Statement Lectionary Date: August 9, 2020 [10th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] Another sibling rivalry rehearses generations of family trauma in Abraham's descendants.

Wrestling with God Lectionary Date: August 2, 2020 [9th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] Jacob wrestles with a mysterious divine representative.

Everything is Changing Lectionary Date: July 26, 2020 [8th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] Dr. Cameron Howard joins us on the show this week. Cameron is an associate professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. She is a graduate of Emory University, and has contributed to several commentaries and journals, including the Women’s Bible Commentary, WorkingPreacher.org, and the BibleOdyssey.org. Her current project is especially appropriate for our current situation, because it’s about how the Bible models faithful innovation for the twenty-first century.

God is in this Place! Lectionary Date: July 19, 2020 [7th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] On the run, Jacob has a dream with words from God.

Family Drama Lectionary Date: July 12, 2020 [6th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] Warring brothers jostle for advantage, with a divine birthright in the balance.

Cooperating with Divine Providence Lectionary Date: July 5, 2020 [5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] Abraham's story isn't quite done: we need to find a wife for the miracle child, Isaac.

Invitation to an Experience Lectionary Date: June 28, 2020 [4th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] To chat about one of the most famous stories in all three of the Abrahamic faiths (the binding of Isaac), Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Ethan Schwartz. Ethan earned his PhD at Harvard University, where he studied how the Bible presents and formulates prophetic speech. He also studies how the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) came together and how the Hebrew Bible was interpreted in the first century, especially in early Christian communities and sectarian Jewish communities. Ethan is committed to bringing biblical studies into productive conversation with contemporary religious life—a great fit with our goals here at "First Reading"! To that end, he has shared his academic work in a number of synagogues, institutes, and churches. If you’re interested in more of his work, check out these great essays at theTorah.com: "Torah: Deuteronomy's Version of Wisdom for Israel" and "The Red Heifer in Synag

God Hears those on the Margins Lectionary Date: June 21, 2020 [3rd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] The story shifts from Abraham and Sarah to an unlikely hero: Hagar.

Sarah's Pleasure Lectionary Date: June 14, 2020 [2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Year A] Rachel eavesdrops on a special visit to Abraham and Sarah.

Beginnings Lectionary Date: June 7, 2020 [Trinity Sunday, Year A] Tim tackles a few preaching pitfalls, and gives some preaching angles on the opening text of the big book.

Another Outpouring of the Spirit Lectionary Date: May 31, 2020 [Day of Pentecost, Year A] For this Pentecost episode, Rachel and Tim are joined by Dr. Reed Carlson. Reed is an Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at the United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia and in Gettysburg, PA. He is also an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church and has Pentecostal roots, so he’s the perfect person to be talking to today! He earned his ThD at Harvard University, and his scholarly and church-ly interests include spirit possession in the Bible and how it relates to similar phenomena in the Global South, and ecumenism, especially among charismatic and progressive Christians. We recommend to you his article “Hannah at Pentecost: On Recognizing Spirit Phenomena in Early Jewish Literature,” published in the Journal of Pentecostal Theology.

God's Victory in a Time of Death Lectionary Date: May 24, 2020 [7th Sunday of Easter, Year A] This week, Rachel opens up a psalm of praise—with some cautions about its war-talk.

Psalm of Thanks Lectionary Date: May 17, 2020 [6th Sunday of Easter, Year A] This week, Tim traces some of the contours of a thanksgiving psalm.

Don't Curate Out the Grit Lectionary Date: May 10, 2020 [5th Sunday of Easter, Year A] This week, Rachel helps us see the big picture of gritty faith.

With Us in the Valley Lectionary Date: May 3, 2020 [4th Sunday of Easter, Year A] This week, a song, a poem, and climate change.

Precious Death Lectionary Date: April 26, 2020 [3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A] This week, Rachel takes on some of the beauty and difficulty of Psalm 116.